"WALLS ARE BAD." It may never stick as a perpetual part of regional lingo like some other 'Burgh-born slogans, but it makes its point. "Walls Are Bad" is the statement that Sustainable Pittsburgh and its partners are touting to boost awareness of the ongoing Great Outdoors Week (through May 25), and its special events around Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

Like its predecessors, this seventh annual Great Outdoors Week is part of an effort to improve Western Pennsylvania's health -- physical, environmental and economic -- by encouraging residents and visitors to actively experience the region's outdoors.

That shouldn't take much prompting, judging from what National Geographic magazine said about Pittsburgh in a recent review of 31 outdoor-blessed urban locales: "It's beautiful. ... Pittsburgh has become a place where residents can be serious both about their careers and their outdoors."

The path to widespread appreciation for Pittsburgh's outdoors, however, has not been all downhill.

In a report on the potential for a regional "outdoor culture," the Pittsburgh-based market research firm Campos Inc. wrote, "While Pittsburgh's geography and natural resources seem to present vast opportunities for an aggregate engagement in outdoor recreational pursuits, the population, by many accounts, tends to be generally averse to embracing a healthy vigorous outdoor lifestyle."

That's consultant-speak for "couch potatoes."

But that may be changing, as surely as Mount Washington's flanks soften under woodland greenery every May.

"I absolutely see Pittsburghers' outdoor attitudes changing," said Pete Greninger, outreach specialist for REI Pittsburgh. "I've lived in Boulder, Colo, and mountain towns in Wyoming and West Virginia. When I first moved here four years ago, it took a little effort to find the outdoor community, but it was here and growing. Now, outdoor recreation is about to become a mainstream identity for this city."

This year's Great Outdoors Week was launched Wednesday at Market Square, where passers-by could get a feel for kayaks (on land) and other gear, meet with outdoor groups and get personal with a climbing wall. The schedule for yesterday's Venture Outdoors Festival at Washington's Landing was "for real," with free instruction in kayaking, canoeing, dragon boating, fishing and more.

Cyclists registered for today's PNC Pedal Pittsburgh will leave and return to Station Square between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on rides ranging from 6 to 60 miles. Opportunities may still be available for volunteers to help as course marshals and guides, or with post-ride cleanup detail. To volunteer, call the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh at 412-391-4144.

On Tuesday 7-8 p.m., the Three Rivers Rowing Association offers a free introduction to rowing -- as in those long, graceful boats propelled by teams, or by tandem or solo rowers -- at its Millvale training facility. Three Rivers Rowing Association executive director Richard Butler sees non-powered boating as a key element in Pittsburgh's outdoor culture.

"Many Pittsburgh visitors, and even residents, travel over, along and around our three rivers two or three times every day," Butler said. "Most never connect our rich river heritage as the reason for our city's existence. Our non-motorized mode of recreation forces people to slow down and experience the rivers. The participants always are in awe of the aquatic wildlife in and along the Allegheny. They become aware that our rivers are alive."

Great Outdoors Week takes a different tack next Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. with Rachel's Sustainable Feast at the Rachel Carson Homestead, 613 Marion Ave. in Springdale. The Homestead commemorates the early life of scientist and author Rachel Carson, whose 1962 book "Silent Spring" elevated awareness of environmental dangers from agricultural pesticides. The Feast assembles some of Pittsburgh's top chefs to prepare foods produced on Western Pennsylvania farms. It's a celebration of a locally based food ecosystem and more, according to Timothy Sweet, Rachel Carson Homestead manager of administration.

"We're holding this as close to Rachel Carson's birthday [May 27] as possible," Sweet said. "It celebrates the vast sustainable agriculture we have here. As a geographic region, we have potential for the greatest concentration of sustainable agriculture of anywhere in the country. The Feast continues our purpose to talk about Rachel's legacy."

As Ginette Walker Vinski, communications director for Sustainable Pittsburgh, sees things, eating a lamb chop pastured in Washington County or sweet corn that ripened in Richland is not a lot different from pedaling or paddling on Western Pennsylvania's trails and streams.

"Great Outdoors Week is helping to change behavior and create an outdoor culture in Southwest Pennsylvania," Walker Vinski said. "We at Sustainable Pittsburgh believe that outdoor recreation is a key component to sustainability for this whole region. It helps individuals' physical health, it attracts talent to the region, it boosts the local economy and it fosters a sense of environmental stewardship. When we have hikers and bikers in the area, they will want to utilize local businesses, and it's not just a rural phenomenon. They are going to be spending money here, in the city, when they are paddling the rivers, which is an incentive to protect the rivers."

For example, Rachel's Sustainable Feast, she said, showcases foods that support the local agricultural economy and save on transportation costs.

"Once there's an increased demand for local food products," she said, "you will start seeing decisions made that enable local farmers to keep their farmland as farmland because they are viable in the market."

Venture Outdoors membership coordinator Rebecca Malena agrees with that big-picture view but points out more personal reasons for hitting the trails.

"I think being outdoors helps you look at things differently," she said. "I would encourage anyone to just get out and do it. There's a new appreciation for nature and wildlife, and you'll just feel better. I think a lack of adequate recognition of the value of outdoor recreation has been a downfall of our society."

"Besides," said Butler, of Three Rivers Rowing, "being outdoors in Pittsburgh is simply cool."

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For more information about Great Outdoors Week or any of its sponsoring organizations, call Sustainable Pittsburgh at 412-258-6646, or visit www.greatoutdoorsweek.org.